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History · Parcoal

Parcoal’s post office opened in 1932

Below: maps from 1915 on.

1932first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Parcoal began

When was Parcoal founded?

1932

The Parcoal post office opened in 1932, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 13094 years
Founding year: the first Parcoal post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Parcoal’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Parcoal are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19154 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1995. Watch Parcoal change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Parcoal’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Parcoal’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Parcoal on the map, 1915 to 1995

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Parcoal. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Parcoal on the 1915 USGS mapParcoal on the 1966 USGS mapParcoal on the 1982 USGS mapParcoal on the 1995 USGS map1915Webster Springs sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Parcoal.

The story so far

Parcoal, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Parcoal yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Parcoal is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Webster County, West Virginia, United States. Parcoal is located along the Elk River, 2.3 miles (3.7 km) east-southeast of Webster Springs. Parcoal had a post office, which closed on November 26, 1988. The population was 130 at the 2020 census. The community derives its name from the Pardee Curtin Lumber Company, the owner of local coal mines.

Its first post office opened in 1932.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Parcoal, 1915 to 1988

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1932Post officeThe Parcoal post office opens
  4. 1988Post officeThe Parcoal post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Famous people

Famous people close to Parcoal

Nobody well known was born in Parcoal itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Pearl S. BuckChinese women Nobel Prize winner, author, teach… · b. 1892
Stephen RobertsAmerican film director · b. 1895
John D. AldersonAmerican politician · b. 1854
Chester R. BenderCommandant of the United States Coast Guard · b. 1914
M
Mike CallaghanAmerican politician · b. 1963
L
Levi Johnson DeanAmerican architect · b. 1878
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Parcoal had its own post office from 1932 to 1988.

Parcoal
1932–1988
19301980today
1cemetery inside Parcoal
Union

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Parcoal’s history

What year was Parcoal founded?

The Parcoal post office opened in 1932, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.